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The Construct and The Tower
The Construct and The Tower- Skia had explained that most of the materials needed for the Reincarnation ritual were easy to acquire, all but one. Dawning Unguent was a key ingredient extracted from a plant which only grows in the sunlight of early morning. Since there is no sunlight on the Shadow she doe's not know how to acquire it. In order to locate the required materials Kaszuk communed with the ether. Fist using Divnination he asked "Please, direct us to a location where we can acquire the necesarry materials for Bastion's reincarnation" and received "Despot Dictator Autocrat These are synonyms; Up to the top To meet with him Then down And descend to find the din; In the din You'll find the Daisy Where a "monster" hides your quarry" an even more cryptic response than he was used to. In order to attempt translation of this Kaszuk sat and meditated for a time. The headdress Kaszuk inherited as Moss Scale shaman allows him to communicate with former shamans. Deep in a trance he again found himself in the caves of Semuanya. The hall lead to the egg chamber where he was joined by his ancestors. Of course, Lyssks and the other former shamans had been watching Kaszuk's progress. They explained that in order to help Bastion the GoG would have to trust the next person who offers to help that with that task. Kaszuk was reluctant, citing that trust was what killed Bastion in the first place. They responded "Trust caused his death, trust will restore his life." The vision ended, and Kaszuk informed the others of what he had learned. Next, Kaszuk cast the spell "Speak with Dead" in order to question Tisha's remains. Her knowledge was limited, as you would expect from a simple farmer's daughter. First, she explained that her reason for killing Grandpapi was that the only way for her to claim his land as her own was to posses the dead and to show the previous owner's remains. Anywhere else this would've seemed like an odd custom, but in the Shadow it's not a surprise. She also explained that this region is under the control of Tyrant, as they knew, but she doesn't know where or who Tyrant is. She did reveal, however, that Crombopulous was an Illithid. She confirmed that Scourge controls the island and chained the moon in place. Satisfied, Kaszuk was ready to leave her head behind where it lay but Vath expressed a desire to keep it. He believed that her head, plus the deed would give them ownership of their farm which could then be sold or traded. As the GoG were breaking camp a familiar voice spoke directly to their minds, Crombopulous. He explained that he knew that the GoG were marked for Tecticlan. He also presumed, correctly, that they had no intention of taking part in it. He also knows that they are searching for the Dawning Unguent. He revealed that he was a lieutenant of Scourge's and offered them a deal: Tyrant resides at the top of a tower surrounded by The Etheral Forest. He went on to say that Tyrant knows where the Dawning Unguent can be found. He would like the GoG to travel to the tower, get the information they desire, and destroy Tyrant and in exchange Crombopulous will call off the sentinels. The sentinels were responsible for collecting those marked for Tecticlan. Finally, Crombopulous stated that he understands their reluctance to cooperate, but that they should "trust" him. Kaszuk's elders were clear. He should trust whoever offers to help them restore Bastion. With few other options the GoG decided to go and meet with Tyrant. Weather or not they would kill him, as Crombopulous requested, remains to be seen. The GoG proceeded through Grissol, acquiring some of the required materials and headed deeper into the mountain. On the morning after their first day's travel Vath revealed a secret. A ghostly gnome has been appearing to him and speaking to him. The gnome is apparently only visible to whomever holds Recludam (the name given to the artifact brought along by Atreides.) The gnome's memory is unreliable. He can't recall how long he has been in this state, his own name or any information regarding his current state. Kaszuk cast Make Manifest,, with limited results. Maze, as the gnome requested they address him, became only partially corporeal. He was visible, barely, but was still unable to interact with anything on the material plane. Maze told the GoG that no one seemed to be able to see or hear him at all before they arrived with Recludam. He said he was going to see if there were any other changes and would rejoin them later. A few hours after meeting Maze the GoG arrived at a forest of ghostly trees. Kaszuk had heard legends of this Phantom Flora. When a region is greatly corrupted and tainted by evil these ghostly visages grow from the ground. He had never seen Phantom Flora firsthand but their story had been passed down by the Moss Scale shamans. He does not know how dangerous the plants themselves are but warned the others not to touch them. Still standing on the edge of the Ethereal Forest the GoG heard a metallic voice cry for help. Cautiously, they entered the treeline. The calls were not coming from very far, they had only traveled for a few minutes before finding the source of the noise. A humanoid made of wood was tied up on the ground, it was the one calling for help. Around it were several goblins, taunting, poking and kicking it. A giant stood watching nearby. An easy decision for the GoG, they acted swiftly. Killing the goblins and giant was an easy task and the wooden man was set free. The being identified itself as Plex. Sadly, it had no memories. It did not know where it came from, how it came to be captive or anything about it's past. Atreides explained that Plex was a creation called a warforged. Warforged are complex machines powered by magic usually used by nations as soldiers. He also noticed a significant dent in Plex's head which probably attributed to it's memory loss. An automaton by nature, Plex has few of it's own desires and was designed to follow orders. It does have an innate need to be a part of a unit. Plex expressed a want to follow and fight with the GoG. It seemed genuine enough, did not give off an aura of evil, and allies are hard to come by in the Shadow. For now, the GoG have accepted Plex's offer to aid them. It was only about an hour before they reached the base of Tyrant's tower. It rose high into the darkness, the top, too far to see. There was an opening at the bottom of the tower where the GoG had emerged from the forest. It was open and unguarded, as Crombopulous had indicated. Inside was a single round empty room with a 15' celing and a staircase leading up. After checking for traps the GoG ascended the stairs to the second floor. The second floor was a furnished and seemingly abandoned office. A few desks, chairs, tables and benches all covered with a layer of dust and dirt. In the center of the room was a large hole, about 10' diameter and next to it a huge bush. The other side of the room was another staircase that continued upwards. Kaszuk warned Vath that the bush may be intelligent and dangerous. Vath took this to mean that it was intelligent enough to communicate with and attempted to do so. As he moved towards it, introducing himself, it lashed out with a vine like limb. It's intentions clear, the GoG fought back. The bush was easily dispatched by Zorak and Kriskahn and they prepared to move up to the next floor. As they reached the third floor Vath announced that it was identical to the previous one aside from the stairs being on opposite sides. The GoG avoided the plant this time and moved around the outer edge of the room towards the next staircase. That was when the walls began to close in. Slowly and gradually this round room was shrinking in size, pushing in the staircase with it. They rushed to the other end of the room and quickly climbed the stairs to the next level. The fourth floor was, identical to the second in every way, aside from the plant creature here still being alive. They again, attemted to skirt the plant and rush to the next staircase. Again the walls began to close in, this time, however, at a faster rate. Kaszuk was unable to keep up with the rest of the group and his path to the next staircase was cut off. In order to reach the stairs he was forced to move into the path of the plant creature. It lashed out with vines, the same as with Vath, but this time it was able to wrap around Kaszuk, pulling him in. Ensnared by the vines, his allies just at the stairs beyond him Kaszuk called out for them to run. As he struggled, the plant engulfed him entirely, swallowing him whole. Zorak, long time ally to Kaszuk would not leave his friend behind. He leapt at the plant, slicing off several tendrils but the creature was ready for him. Zorak gradually met the same fate as Kaszuk. Grabbed, and enveloped the monster had now eaten two of the GoG. From within, the two struggled against digestion. Eventually able to split the monster open from inside the two men came tumbling out. At the same time, the walls and stairs continued pushing in. Atreides was forced into the hole in the middle of the room, falling all the way down to the ground level. The opening of the staircase was pushed underneath Kaszuk and Zorak and they fell one story down. Unfortunately, they landed right next to the plant on the third floor. Separated, injured, and imperiled the Guardians of Grog appear to be losing the battle against Tyrant's Tower. Will they be able to survive? Can they climb Tyrant's tower and save Bastion? Can Plex be trusted? What of Maze and Recludum?